Market News & Headlines >> Rains Hurt Corn, Soybean Conditions

U.S. corn and soybean conditions deteriorated last week as excessive rainfall stressed fields in central and eastern parts of the Midwest growing belt.

USDA rated U.S. corn conditions 71% good/excellent as of Sunday, down from 73% a week earlier and 74% a year earlier. The portion of the crop rated poor/very poor rose to 6% from 5% a week earlier and a year earlier.

Soybean conditions were rated 65% good/excellent, down from 67% a week earlier and 72% a year earlier. Some 8% of the crop was rated poor/very poor, up from 6% a week earlier and 5% a year earlier. Soybean planting was put at 90% complete, behind the five-year average pace of 90%, while crop emergence was put at 84% versus 89% a year earlier and the average of 87%.

Crop ratings dropped sharply in the eastern Corn Belt for both corn and soybeans. In Ohio, the good/excellent rating dropped 19 percentage points for corn to 61% and fell 14 points for soybeans to 55%.  Indiana corn was rated 58% good/excellent, down 15 points from a week earlier, while the state’s soybean crop was also rated 58% good/excellent, down 13 points. In the No. 2 corn producing state of Illinois, the portion of the crop rated good/excellent fell 6 points to 70%, with the good/excellent rating for soybeans down 10 points to 60%.  

In the top corn growing state of Iowa, corn conditions were rated 83% good/excellent, down 1 point from a week earlier, while the soybean crop rating was unchanged at 80% good/excellent.

The lower ratings in the eastern Midwest were partly offset by improved conditions in the western part of the region. The Minnesota corn crop was rated 80% good/excellent, up 3 points from a week earlier, with the good/excellent ratings for Nebraska and South Dakota each up 2 points. The Minnesota soybean crop was rated 76% good/excellent, up 2 points on the week, while the South Dakota good/excellent rating for soybeans also rose 2 points.